27 unsafe bottled water brands in Pakistan: PCRWR's July to September list, 22 with bacteria

The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has named 27 bottled and mineral water brands as unsafe to drink after testing 223 samples bought in 20 cities between July and September 2026. That is two fewer failing brands than the previous quarter, when 29 failed, but the main problem has not moved: bacteria. Twenty-two of the 27 failed because their water carried bacterial contamination.

The findings were released on 6 November and reported by the state news agency APP. PCRWR tests against the drinking water standard set by the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA).

The unsafe bottled water brands, by problem

Bacteria (22 brands): Aab-e-Haram, Douro, Aab-e-Makuran, Water Verse Purified, Jel Bottled Drinking Water, Sip Bottled Drinking Water, Safi Bottled Drinking Water, Pure Aqua Tech Bottled Drinking Water, Aqua Grain Bottled Drinking Water, Water Time Bottled Drinking Water, Al Saha Drinking Water, Aab-e-Hayat, K&S Aqua Sea, JERS Safe Life, Athar Premium, Aqua Dor, HHG Sweets and Bakers, Drinkly, One Flow Bottled Drinking Water, Zalmi Pure Mineral Water, New A2Z Bottled Water and Aqua Indus.

Arsenic (2 brands): Akwafine Bottled Drinking Water and Premium Safa Purified Water, at 13.5 to 23.2 parts per billion against a limit of 10.

Sodium (3 brands): Aab-e-Haram, AB-Blue Water and HR Water Healthy Life, at 94 to 164 parts per million against a limit of 50.

Other limits: Aab-e-Haram also had total dissolved solids (TDS) of 680 ppm against a limit of 500, and Fresh Smart Pure Water had potassium at 20 ppm, twice the limit of 10.

Aab-e-Haram failed on three counts: bacteria, sodium and TDS.

How this compares with last quarter

In the April to June 2026 round, PCRWR tested 230 samples from the same 20 cities and failed 29 brands, ARY News reported in August. Bacteria were the leading problem then as well, in 22 brands, with excess sodium in nine. This quarter sodium failures fell to three, while arsenic, which can harm health over years of drinking, appeared in two brands.

What it means for you

• Check the label before you buy. The brands above are mostly small local labels sold in corner shops, offices and roadside stalls, often in 19-litre bottles. A name that sounds like a known brand is not the same product.
• Bacteria are the quick risk. Contaminated water can cause diarrhoea and stomach infections, which hit children and older people hardest. If you have stock of a listed brand, boiling it kills bacteria; it does not remove arsenic or sodium.
• People on low-salt diets (high blood pressure, heart or kidney patients) should avoid the three high-sodium brands.
• Read the full report. PCRWR publishes each quarter's results, with city-by-city sampling, on its bottled water page. The council urges buyers to check it before choosing a brand.

PCRWR's job is testing; action against a brand rests with PSQCA and the provincial food authorities. Bottled water quality has been a recurring finding in local surveys too: in Chiniot, water at 145 of 451 government schools failed safety tests earlier this month.